3rd ODI: India clinch thriller against New Zealand in Nagpur to maintain unbeaten home run

Jasprit Bumrah and Yuzvendra Chahal starred with ball on a day when bowlers were taken to the cleaners as India won the third and final ODI against New Zealand in Kanpur by six runs on Sunday, October 29.

Chahal (2 for 47) with his crafty leg-spin in the middle overs and Bumrah (3 for 47) with his toe-crushers in the end overs made sure New Zealand fell short of the 338-run target on a belter at the Green Park.

Record-breaking Kohli

Virat Kohli also got past MS Dhoni and Rahul Dravid's winning streak of six successive series as captain after surviving a massive scare from the spirited New Zealand team, which stunned India in the first ODI of the three-match series last week.

New Zealand were given a solid start by Colin Munro, who hit 75 from 62 balls, and skipper Kane Williamson (64 off 84 balls). However, leg-spinner Chahal dismissed both the well-set players to open the doors for the hosts. 

Tom Latham and Ross Taylor then combined to add 79 more runs and set a good platform for a historic series win (what could have been New Zealand's first in India), but the visitors lost the plot in the final four overs, in which they just needed 35 runs. 

Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who conceded 92 from his 10 overs, finished the job for their captain with four perfect death overs. 

Earlier in the day, Rohit Sharma and Kohli made New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson regret his decision to win toss and bowl first as the Indian duo stitched a 230-run stand for the second wicket on Sunday, October 29. 

While opener Rohit (147 off 138 balls) got his 15th ODI century, skipper Kohli was at his best while bringing up his 32nd ton (113 off 106 balls) in the 50-over format. India did not finish with a flurry -- managed only 85 runs in the last 10 -- but the carnage that was unleashed by the two centurions guided India to 337 for 6 in their quota of 50 overs.

Kohli, Rohit dominate middle overs

New Zealand new-ball bowler Tim Southee struck early to remove Shikhar Dhawan, but Kohli and Rohit blunted the bowling attack of the visitors. Both of them took their time but shifted gears after getting settled. 

Kohli and Rohit made the most of the batting powerplay between the 35th and 40th overs as they added 58 runs when New Zealand only had four fielders outside the 30-yard circle. The Mumbai batsman, who was mixing elegance with aggression, cut loose during the powerplay, before which he had reached his ton.

Record-breaking knocks

Rohit missed out an opportunity to get his third ODI double ton as he was dismissed as early as in the 42nd over. The Indian vice-captain though got past the 1000-run mark in 2017 and finished with 1076 in Nagpur. 

Meanwhile, Kohli, by virtue of his ton, surpassed his previous best run tally of 1381 (2011) in a year as he took his tally to 1460 on Sunday. 

Death bowling clicks for visitors

However, New Zealand pulled it back with regular wickets towards the end of the Indian innings. While Mitchell Santner and Adam Milne took two wickets each, Southee picked up one to restrict India to 85 for 5 in the last 10 overs. 

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